City Council to Discuss Community Redevelopment Agency's Future on Friday

The fate of several Hollywood development projects is unclear as city officials begin to analyze how a state decision to cut funding for the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles will affect the city's aging neighborhoods.

At a Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee meeting Wednesday, representatives from the chief administrative officer and chief legislative analyst discussed how the state’s budget would impact the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, and asked for 30 days to evaluate how two Assembly bills would impact the city.

The recommendation comes a day after the state Legislature passed a budget that would take $1.7 billion away from redevelopment agencies. In Los Angeles, the CRA's proposed budget for the next fiscal year is about $430 million. Included in its proposed budget are several Hollywood development projects including Walk of Fame improvements and two affordable housing projects on Vine Street. The budget proposal also lays out development plans in east Hollywood, including a hospital and mental health center housing project and a Vermont Avenue streetscape project. The proposed budget for the Hollywood area is $145 million.

A recommendation for the council to approve a temporary, three-month budget for the agency was proposed in a report by the CAO and CLA. 

“Our offices recommend that instead of approving a full CRA budget at this time, we provide a resolution and a limited budget for a three- month period from July 1 to Oct. 1,” said the CAO's Lisa Johnson Smith. 

The recommendation that the council give the offices 30 days to review the impact of two Assembly bills on the city will call on the assistance of the city attorney and the redevelopment agency, said the report. One bill requires the CRA to give $1.7 billion, of which a major portion would come from Los Angeles.

Councilman Herb Wesson Jr., chairman of the committee, ran the meeting solo before he was joined by Councilman Richard Alarcon 30 minutes after the meeting started. Wesson backed their request to further analyze the impact of the Assembly bills on the city and come back in 30 days with a report. 

“I think an update in 30 days on both issues makes sense,” said Wesson. 

Wesson also stressed the urgency of the City Council coming up with a solution for moving forward with the redevelopment agency while its budget is being analyzed. 

"I think it's critical that on Friday, we move forward and this might be the easiest way for us to move forward in the short term," he said. 

The review and approval of the CRA/LA’s proposed budget is on the agenda for Friday’s City Council meeting.

Past CRA Projects in Hollywood

The community redevelopment agency has initiated several projects in Hollywood recently, including a loan program designed to help businesses on  and upgrades to the historic on Franklin Avenue, once home to Ronald Reagan. Both projects were approved by the City Council in June. 

A representative from the city's community redevelopment agency told Patch on Wednesday that officials are in the process of assessing the state budget's impact on their work program and could not say how the budget would affect proposed Hollywood projects.